This invention relates to sign stands for display in warning purposes, such as those used at construction sites along or near highways, construction sites in or near building projects, or in buildings where repair is taking place, in parking lots and parking structures, and in merchandising generally.
The prior art is replete with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of kinds of signs and displays, and many ingenious devices and arrangements have been provided for supporting a sign in a particular location to accomplish a particular purpose, or to overcome a particular problem. One of the problems which has plagued and continues to plague the industry is the problem of storage of signs when they are not in use and the problem of the time that it takes to set up a sign for display purposes. This problem is a severe economic burden on industries where signs are taken up and stored and used again at frequent intervals, but not subject to continuous use. In construction, for example, it is common to have to move signs around on a daily or more frequent basis. In parking lot management it is necessary to set up and store signs sometimes several times a day, and not infrequently at least once a day, as a parking lot is in use, or empties or fills, or is divided for separate uses.
Many sign stands are provided which are mounted securely and firmly to the sign and which do not readily fold, or have expensive and heavy folding mechanisms. Some sign stands, for example, are built around a circular base which may be either heavy enough to support the sign and prevent it from tipping, or may have a large enough radius to prevent the sign from tipping under influences of bumping, wind, etc. Some sign stands have various types of leg folding mechanisms.
In spite of the many efforts to solve these various problems in the industry, there remains a serious need for a light-weight, compact, easily storable sign system.
In traffic situations, such as at highway construction sites, repair sites, and the like, and sometimes in merchandising circumstances, it is highly desirable to provide a flag or a number of flags on top of the sign to catch the attention of those passing by. These flag devices are particularly valuable when the sign is used in parking lots and along highways, or where the sign is subject to prevailing wind or to wind generated by moving traffic, since the waving of the flag tends to bring instantaneous attention to the sign. The same principle applies in certain merchandising situations where there is a natural wind or an artificially created wind current.
This invention is directed to a simple, inexpensive and yet effective and easy to operate set of mechanisms for solving these problems at low cost.